Truck.



E. WHALLEY.

TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2. 1911.

Patented Jan. 15, 1918.

Z SHEETS SHEET 1.

INVENTOR.

WITNESS:

A TTORNE Y.

E. WHALLEY.

TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZ. 1917.1 1,253,757. Patented Jan.'15,1918.

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WITNESS:

I I BY 5 MJ a;m

ATTORNEY.

. trucks of the so-called elevating type,

ENOCH WHALI 'JEY, OF WILLIMANSE'I'T, MASSACHUSETTS.

TRUCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented an. 15, 1918.

application filed May 2, 1917. Serial No. 166,001;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Enoon winner, a citizen of the United Statesof America, residing at Willilnansett, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Truck, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wherein a longitudinal movement is converted into a rising or falling movement, according to the direction of such longitudinal movement, for use-in hauling goods about by hand, and consists in general of certain peculiar truck sections and the operating means therefor, the latter wherewith the upper section is raised from the under section or elevated and lowered or depressed, together with such auxiliary and subsidiary parts and members as may be necessary or desirable in order to render the truck complete and practicable and serviceable for the purposes for which it is intended, all as hereinafter set forth.

The primary object of my invention is to produce asimple,both structurally and operatively, comparatively inexpensive, strong and durable, low-down, and highly efficient truck, for use in raising goods or material from the support therefpr on the floor or with such support from the floor, hauling such goods or material to'the desired loca'lity, and there lowering and depositing the same.

A further object is to provide, in the direct-acting raising and lowering means or mechanism of such .a truck, means for equal- :izing the load as it were.

with powerful and self-controlling or selflocking actuating'mechanism, which at the same time is of, such a nature that it is comparatively easy to operate, and is also practically uniform in operation and unden varying stresses, so that the variation in the force necessary to be exerted by the operquently more clearly appear.

ator is scarcely. perceptible Cooperating with this actuating mechanism is the abovementioned direct-acting raising and lowering means whereby the equalizing effect is produced, and such meanscontributes to the success and efliciency in certain respects, of said actuating mechanism, as will subse- The equalizing effect, through which the operator with comparatively little effort on;-

including means his part is able to handle easily and success fully a very heavy load, and. to which reference was made above, may be said to be inherent in the raising and lowering mechanism, and more especiallyin the'direct-acting portion thereof. The load in being elevated is started upward slowly andcon tinues to rise slowly, speed not being required or desired, so that the force required to elevate the load is approximately uniform throughout the lifting operation, and, conversely, the same thing is true when the load is lowered,.force of a nearly uniform character being then as always in evidence. Thus both the raising and lowering operations, from start to finish, are performed under conditions which require the expenditure of an approximately uniform amount of force, so that little or no extra effortis called for or force involved either in starting the load upwardly or in restraining the load as it approaches the limit of its downward travel. And this apart from the worm drive which is a factor of the actuating mechanism resently to be described.

Still .anot er object is to so construct a truck, of the type in question, that the steering elements including the tongue or handle are entirely independent of the raising and lowering elements, wherefore there is and can be no interference of any kind between them. This obviously is an. important advantage.

The truck, while itself light in weight, is

quate rang-c of elevation, is sufficiently low, a when the upper section is down inits low- Another object is to provide such a truck est position, to. be Loperated in connection with a stacl' from the spirit of the invention, so long as the. scope of the claims be not exceeded.

In the drawings, in which like numerals designate like partsv throughout the several.

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' pieces 1 views, Figure 1 is a top plan of a truck which embodies the invention as aforesaid, the upper section being in its low position, and the Forward portion. oi: the handle or tongue broken off; Fig- :2 a side elevation of said truck, with said upper section clown and said tongue broken. off before; Fig. 3, fragmentary detail in side elevation, showing the disposition of the links when said upper section is elevated to its fullest extent; Fig. 4-, a front elevation of the truck, the parts being disposed as in. the first two views, and the tongue in section; Fig. 5, a cross-section through. said upper section, taken on lines 5---5, looking in the direction ofthe associated arrow, in Fig. 1, the under section of the truck being represented by dot a ndxlush' lines; Fig. 6, a, cross-section through the truck, on lines (.'-6, looking in the direction of the asso- 1: 'ei'ed arrow, Fig" l, and, Fig. '2, a. detail. of the worm members.

The trnelz, in the present; i mrzn eornprises an under section or car! go which is a body or frame mounted on rolls or Wheels; 11 superimposed or upper section. or platform eapnble of moving longitudinally and up wnrdly relative to said Carrie equalizing lifters, in the form of links of peculiar eon situation, which constitute the direct means tvl'zeloeh'e seiri platform is ieise'i anal lewereai; it. ecaneting means {or drawing said platform foswerd on. said carriage or foreing the latter backward under the former as the case may be, to elevate 5 id platform, The body or frame of the as here prt nied comprises two angle-iron s'de connected at their front ends an inverted U met] head ni oe and com nested near a cross bar which lies 1:1: e, oils. The aforesaid egg 7 v. of up ights i which rise no the heen anti are eennested. by cro bar 8. The head 2 i top sen forwardly exten zlin A 1G pi-o jeots outfi edge of each side 1 behind the head. 2, and a eets outwardlyfrom the bottom bar 3 be nd. h end thereof A z'O-il or bar '1 minced between the side pieoes 1. Emmi". l behind the heacl ewe such has .nuzmions 13-l3 at h ends which exte'sl through said side .;:e and moi-set bet jn i the some. The uprights Y limit the fox. movement of the plntforin or the rem" the earrings, rel; more 'clee'i-ly appear, are loosely mounted on w imam-ions l3 and i, and Wheels 15 is loosely mounted on sew trnnuions al, nub s. o. aid links thereon.

The wheels 15 support the m ringo at the rear end, and said carriage eiiflJOiTtFld et pelts of the front end by a swivel 16 and a pair of Wheels 1.7, the projection 9 resting directly on said swivel and the latter being r0tatably secured theret by a liingbolt or kingpin l8 in the usual manner: The Wheels 16 are mounted on an axle 19 carried by the swivel 16. A handle or tongue 20 is pivotally nttnol l at its renr end to the swivel 16, as represented at l The latform as here presented comprises 75 two site pieces 2-2 having downwardly extending parts 23 -fi3 intermediate of the ends of such side pieces, an angle-iron oross piece 24 connecting said side pieces back of their front terminals and an angle-iron cross piece 25 connecting side pieces at their rear ends, The cross piece 24 is on top of the side pieces'iZil and has two Webs or lugs in which a shaft or rod 26 is mounted. The cross piece 25 'lnsh on top iviih the upper edges of he side pieees 212.. i shaft or roci is moi ed 1 side pieces .clinC-ent to Elie cross p 1:53. Each oi" the i'Uilbl 2+5 t 52'? projects e11 both ends beyond the verticnl planes of the out-er feces of the side pieces 22, and mounted on such projecting terminalsis a pair of links 28. The Side pieces 22 with their parts 2 which latter form guide extensions, embrace the side pieces i. at all times so there ten be no lateral move nieut oi? the form to the'oorri While the for. eo' or low or While it in the elevated the exl'eneions 23 ple'tiiiorin and hohling ii movement, WVhen foe pletro lowest position the piece 24;, fiends lJQj Uflfl the pie rests on the side pieee il jsuil s l Each link 14 is equal. in length to each link nnrl ml ieeent links M and 28 have their eontiquous terminals pivoinlly connected at Contiguous terminals oi the. links M 21ml 28 are inset to "form transverse 1 shoulders or. stops Zlfiwhieh limit the rotative independent swing or movement of said links. v 1

When the platform is clown on the carringe the rear ends-of the links 14 lie on the 1L4 lugs 10 and, 11, said lugs being so located that they then support said links in an up proximately horizontal POSlfi(JI1,l)llt with said rear ends slightly above the horizontal plane of the front ends of seicl links sii that the upward swing of the links initially is facilitated. While the links 14 are in the position just described, the rods 26 and 27 are so located that the links 28 are disposed obliquely, extending upwardly and rearwardly, substantially as represented in Fig. 2. Assuming now that the carriage be held stationary and the platform drawn forward on said carriage, it is evident that said platform must be elevated, since the links 28 caused to assume an upright or nearly upright position, and then the links 14 are caused to assume an oblique position corre sponding to the position originally assumed by said links 14. This effect is brought about in the following manner: The links 28 first fulcrum on the pivots 29, and then, as said links approach the perpendicular, the shoulders 30 on the links 28 and 14, come into contact, interlocking the two sets of links, and said links 28, now fulcruming on'said shoulders, cause said links 1-1 to swing upwardly on the trunnions 13. Before the rod 26 reaches the vertical plane of the rod 12, the cross piece 2% encounters the uprights 7. onsequently the links can not be swung into position to lock the platform when elevated, but always support the elevated platform in such a manner that the same can descend by gravity so far as the links themselves are concerned. The links ltand 28 carry up the platform until the latter arrives at the desired elevation see Fig. 3. These jointedlink lifters render it comparatively easy to start the platform with its load, and equalize the force required to carry said platform to the limit of its upwardtravel, theforce being ina sense cumulative, as would not be'the case if unjointed or single links were employed. Conversely or in reverse order the facts are the same, when the platform is permitted to move backward and downward. Vhile the shoulders 30 are still in engagenient the links 14 turn down on the trunnions 13 until the lugs 1.0 and 11 are encountered, and then the links 28 swing rearwardly and'downwardly on the pivots 29 until the side pieces 22 and the cross piece 24 vzatinja; (ope. dtion.

come to rest on the cross bar 3 and the side pieces 1, respectively. With these lifters the platform with its load could still'be kept under complete control at the time said?v platform approaches the carriage and undue; shock would still be prevented, even if other;

than friction controlling means, such as the worm members here present, were employed. It should be noted that the shoulders 30 ="iom'e into contact before the links 28 assume v, position which would locate the rod 26 udirectly over the pivots 29, during the ele- This is necessary in order that the axis of the rod 26 shall always be behind thevertical plane of the axis of. the pivots 29, whenever the links 14 are bearing on the lugs 10 and 11, be-- mounted on a shaft 34: also journaled in said uprights, achain 35 passing overand down in front of said pulleys, and down in front of and under said idlers to the rod 26 to which said chain is fastened, a wormwheel 36 mounted on said shaft 32, 21 worm 37 which intermeshes with said worm-wheel,

and mounted on a shaft 38 which is journaled'in a bearing bracket 39 attached to the underside of the cross bar 18, and an operating lever or crank rod 40 having a handle 41, and connected with said last-named shaft by a hub block 42. The pulleys 31 are of the ordinary indented type for a hoisting chain such as the chain The ends of the chain 35 are made fast to the rod 26, while the middle slack portion of said chain hangs freely hack of the pulleys 31, in the customary manner. The idlers are a suliicient distance above the horizontal. plane of the rod 26 to afford a downward incline to those parts of the chain 35 which extend from said idlers to said rod, so that the draft of said chain is upward. This is a valuable factor in facilitating the operation of elevatii'ig the platform, as will readily be seen.

The worm 37 is, of course, rotated by means of the crank rod 40, and in turn lo tates the worm-Wheel 36. When the wormincreased or decreased accordingly as more "or less power 13 needed to handle the load.

The piles or stacks of goods'or material to be transported with my truck are supported from the floor at a sufiicient height to enable said truck, while the platform is down, to be backed under any such stack or pile, and ordinarily portable benches are provided for the purpose, such benches inv each case being raised, carried, and set down without removing the goods or material therefrom, although in some cases, the sup ports are stationary and the material is transported Without them.

Briefly, the-operation of the truck as a whole is described as follows, starting with the parts disposed as in Figs. 1, 2, and 4:

The truck is hauled by the tongue 20 to the vicinity of the load to be moved and backed beneath the same. Then the crank rod 40' is rotated to raise the load, which in eludes the bench when present, from the floor, on or with the platform, through the medium of the hoisting members and the lifters or links. The platform with its load having been elevated to the 'i'niwximuin height, or to any lesser height as may be desired, rests on the links 1-1 and 28, and is prevented from descending by the frietional resistance offered by the worm-111mb hers. Next the loaded truck is hauled by means of the tongue 20 to the desired locality, and there the load is deposited, by rotating theworni n'ien'ibers in reverse directions to permit the platform to descend onto the carriage and the bench to come to rest on the floor, or the load in the absence of the bench to rest upon other supporting members, the operator through said worm members having absolute control o5. said platform throughout the descent of the latter: The truck is now drawn from he neath the load and out of the way \Vhen the mechanism is operatedtp ele- -vate the load and the platform comes into side pieces 1,

7 load up with contact With the under surface of the load, there is 'usually so much frictional resistanee that said platformis held stationary While the carriage moves backward on the Wheels 17 and 15, but the desired result of elevating the it is attained just the same as though the carriage were held stationary and the platform moved forwardly as Well. as upwardly.

-By means of the jointechlink lifters the raising and lowering operations may be easily and quickly performed under coed tions that require the expenditure of ap proximately uniform amount of force, and. said lifters together with the worm-hoisting mechanism give into the hands of the open ator full and complete control of the platform and load" 1 ;The movements of the swivel 16 and. of the tongue :20 are iii no Way interfered with by the raising and lowering mechanism of theitrnek, such swivel and tongue being en tirely independent of such mechanism, wherefore the greatest freedom is permitted to said swivel and tongue. It follows, therefore, that this truck can be moved about on the floor with the utmost facility.

There are two lugs 4-3, on the bottom of the cross piece 24, which when the platform is down come into direct Contact with the in the present construction and there also is a washer 44 on each trunnion 13 between the link 14 on said trunnion and the adjncent'side piece 1.

What I claim as mv invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a truck, relatively movable upper and platform and carrying the under sections, a plurality of jointeddink lifters ivotally connected with said sections, and ac apted to raise to its full height, as determined by the lengths of said lifters, said upper sectionwhen the latter is actuated in one direction or said lower section is actuated in the other direction, and actlb, ating means for said sections relatively, such means being independent of lifters.

In a truck, .lfl-lltlljlv'ely. movable upper and under sections, WOI'HhllOlSll'lllg mechanism carried by said under sectionand connected with said upper section, and direct lifting means for said upper section, such means compiisin jiiinteildink lifters piv wally connected with said ser' tions, and. adapted to raise said upper section when the latter is forced in one direction or said lower section is forced in the other direction.

of jointed- With id port said upper sting mechanism carried by said under section and connected with said uppersection.

i. In a truck relative and under section" pivotally connect s ctions, said links havin projecting parts for mutual engagement during a port rof the movement of said link and acteating means for said s tions "relatively. 5. In; truck, relatively movable upper pivotaliy connected "able upper iected links and. under sections links pivotally connected Wlil'i. said sections, said h wing projecting parts for ini1- tual engagement during a. non of the movement of said links, at id. antler seetitan having it! movement in one niinals of said links, and for said sections relatively.

B. Llhe coinhination in a truck, of a can provided With trontend supporting and, guiding means, superimposed plat form, jointed links pi ally connected with said carriage and platform and adapted to raise the latter when the same is forced in one direction or said carriage is forced in the other direction, and actuating means for said carriage and platform firstand last-named means direction of the joined ter' actuating means being independ-' ent of each other;

7. The combination, in a truck, of a carriage provided with froniwendsupporting and guiding means, a superimposed plat 'form, jointed links pivotally connected with said carriage and platform, and adapted to arranged to limit the Ill.

relatively, said means and said mechanism being independnt of each other,

8. The combination, in a truck, or" a carriage consisting in part of side pieces and a cross bar provided with trunnions, a superimposed platform consisting in part of a cross piece adapted to rest on said side pieces, and of side pieces adapted to rest on said bar, trimsverse rods in said carriage and platform side pieces and a transverse rod in said cross piece, pivotally-connooted links mounted on said trunnions and rods, Wheels also on said trunnions, an independent swivel and wheel support for the front end of said. carriage, and means to actuate said carriage and platform relatively.

9. The combination, in a, truck, oi a carriage consisting in part of side pieces and a cross bar provided with trinnlion i it P ilnposed platform consisting in part of a cross piece adapted to reston said side pieces, and of side pieces adapted to rest on said bar, transverse rods in said carriage and platform side pieces and in said cross piece, pivotally connected links mounted on said trunnions and rods, said links having projecting parts 'jointed terminals of said links, Wheels also mounted on said trunnions, an independent swlvel and wheel support for the front end and a worm and Worm-Wheel arranged in said support to actuate said members, of a superimposed platform, jointed links pivotally connected with said carriage and platform and adapted to raise the latter W the same is forced in'one direction. or said carriage is forced "in the other direction, and, a flexible member attached to said platfori'n and connected, with said hoisting members.

11 The combination, in a truck, with a carriageprovided with. a support, shafts carrying pulleys and idiers mounted in said support, a wor'ra-vslieel-on one of said shafts, a worm, mounted in said support and intermeshing with said Worm-Wheel, and a crank member for said Worm, of a superimposed platform, direct lifting means between'said carriage and platform, and a flexible membe looped behind said pulleys and passing over the same. and under said idlers' to have,

the ends of said flexible member attached to i said 1312 tform.

ENOCH WHALLEY. 

